Stephanie widjaja

Yonex Sunrise Guwahati Masters Super: International badminton is returning to Assam capital after a gap of 17 years and rising badminton star Unnati Hooda, who has won all the BWF Super 100 tournaments played so far in India, hopes she can break into the top 50 of the BWF rankings with a win in Guwahati Masters Super 100 in Guwahati.

Unnati Hooda had earlier set a modest target of breaking into the top 100 in the BWF World Ranking by the end of this year. But the 16-year-old has already surpassed that target with back-to-back titles in Abu Dhabi and Raipur and is hoping to get within touching distance of the top-50 spot with a strong showing at the Yonex Sunrise Guwahati Masters Super 100 tournament that begins here with the qualifying rounds on Tuesday.

Currently ranked 79th in the world, Hooda will open her campaign against Stephanie Widjaja of Indonesia in the inaugural edition of the competition that has attracted some top international stars including Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen and Supanida Katethong among others.